IPL 4 DC vs KXIP Result: Valthaty hits 75 & Punjab Win by 8 Wickets

Shikhar Dhawan, in partnership with Kumar Sangakkara, chose to take on the Kings XI Punjab bowlers, thereby increasing Deccan Chargers' scoring rate in match 15 of IPL-4 at Hyderabad on Saturday.

Kings XI Punjab openers Adam Gilchrist and Paul Valthaty brought up stroke-filled half centuries to take life out of the Deccan Chargers' bowling in match 15 of IPL-4 here on Saturday.

But the chase didn't start without a drama as Ishant Sharma almost got his man but for a no-ball when he had Valthaty caught at point.

The Kings XI openers, however, went from strength to strength, with Gilchrist joining Valthaty in the assault on Deccan Chargers.

While Valthaty started the attack, Gilchrist took it to a different level with his half century in just 30 balls en route to a century opening stand.

Sangakkara's all attempts to break the partnership fell apart as the duo treated both pacers and spinners with utter disdain. And Valthaty eventually reached his half century off 35 balls.

With less than fifty runs left to win, Gilchrist chose to go on an all out attack and in that endeavour, holed out at deep square leg to give Amit Mishra and Deccan Chargers their first wicket of the match. The KXIP skipper scored 61 off 46 balls, including five fours and three sixes.

That also ended the 136-run opening stand between Gilchrist and Valthaty - the highest of the IPL-4 until now.

Paul Valthaty took a four-wicket haul for Kings XI Punjab but Daniel Christian’s 14-ball cameo of 30 runs helped the hosts Deccan Chargers notch up a competitive total of 165/8 in match 15 of IPL-4 here on Saturday.

Earlier, opening the batting for the hosts after being put in to bat, Sunny Sohal tried to loft Harris over mid-off but could not clear the fielder.

Shikhar Dhawan, in partnership with Kumar Sangakkara, chose to take on the Kings XI Punjab bowlers, thereby increasing Deccan Chargers' scoring rate in match 15 of IPL-4 at Hyderabad on Saturday.

Sohal tried to loft Harris over mid-off but could not clear the fielder.

Chargers' skipper Kumar Sangakkara then strode in at his customary No. 3 position and started rotating the strike to start off.

Meanwhile, Shikhar Dhawan chose to be the aggressor and took on the KXIP bowlers, increasing the scoring rate by the end of 10 overs.

Earlier, Kings XI Punjab skipper Adam Gilchrist won the toss and elected to field against the Deccan Chargers.

While Deccan Chargers go into the match with an unchanged side, Vikramjeet Malik comes in for Kings XI in place of Bhargav Bhatt.

Kings XI Punjab have had mixed results in the competition so far. They went down to the Pune Warriors by 7 wickets in their opening fixture but upset defending champions Chennai Super Kings by six wickets when newcomer Paul Valthaty smashed a breathtaking century.

Deccan Chargers on the other hand have lost two of their three matches thus far though they were victorious in their last fixture against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.